The memory demands for school-age children are much greater than they are for adults. As adults,
we have already acquired much of the knowledge and skills we need to function day to day. Although the knowledge base for
some fields such as technology changes rapidly, the new information is generally highly specific and builds on existing knowledge.
On the other hand, school children are constantly bombarded with new knowledge in multiple topic areas in which they may or
may not be interested. Additionally, they are expected to both learn and demonstrate the mastery of this knowledge on a weekly
basis. Thus, an effective and efficient memory is critical for school success.

Many students have memory problems.
Students who have deficits in registering information in short-term memory often have difficulty
remembering instructions or directions they have just been given, what was just said during conversations and class lectures
and discussions, and what they just read. Students who have difficulty with working memory often forget what they are doing
while doing it. For example, they may understand the three-step direction they were just given, but forget the second and
third steps while carrying out the first step. If they are trying to solve a math problem that has several steps, they might
forget the steps while trying to solve the problem. When they are reading a paragraph, they may forget what was at the beginning
of the paragraph by the time they get to the end of the paragraph. These students will look like they have difficulty with
reading comprehension. In facts, they do; but the comprehension problem is due to a failure of the memory system rather than
the language system.

Students who have deficits in the storage and retrieval of information from long-term memory
may study for tests, but not be able to recall the information they studied when taking the tests. They frequently have difficulty
recalling specific factual information such as dates or rules of grammar. They have a poor memory of material they earlier
in the school year or last year. They may also be unable to answer specific questions asked of them in class even when their
parents and/or teachers think they really know the information.

The following ten general strategies are offered to help students develop a more efficient and effective memory.

1. Give Directions in Multiple Formats: Students benefit from being given directions in both
visual and verbal formats. In addition, their understanding and memorizing of instructions could be checked by encouraging
them to repeat the directions given and explain the meaning of these directions. Examples of what needs to be done are also
often helpful for enhancing memory of directions.

2. Teach Students to Over-learn Material: Students should be taught the necessity of "over-learning"
new information. Often they practice only until they are able to perform one error-free repetition of the material. However,
several error-free repetitions are needed to solidify the information.

3. Teach Students to Use Visual Images and Other Memory Strategies: Another memory strategy
that makes use of a cue is one called word substitution. The substitute word system can be used for information that is hard
to visualize, for example, for the word occipital or parietal. These words can be converted into words that
sound familiar that can be visualized. The word occipital can be converted to exhibit hall (because it sounds like
exhibit hall). The student can then make a visual image of walking into an art museum and seeing a big painting of a brain
with big bulging eyes (occipital is the region of the brain that controls vision). With this system, the vocabulary word the
student is trying to remember actually becomes the cue for the visual image that then cues the definition of the word.

4. Give Teacher-Prepared Handouts Prior to Class Lectures: Class lectures and series of oral
directions should be reinforced by teacher-prepared handouts. The handouts for class lectures could consist of a brief outline
or a partially completed graphic organizer that the student would complete during the lecture. Having this information both
enables students to identify the salient information that is given during the lectures and to correctly organize the information
in their notes. Both of these activities enhance memory of the information as well. The use of Post-Its to jot information
down on is helpful for remembering directions.

5. Teach Students to Be Active Readers: To enhance short-term memory registration and/or working
memory when reading, students should underline, highlight, or jot key words down in the margin when reading chapters. They
can then go back and read what is underlined, highlighted, or written in the margins. To consolidate this information in long-term
memory, they can make outlines or use graphic organizers. Research has shown that the use of graphic organizers increases
academic achievement for all students.

6. Write Down Steps in Math Problems: Students who have a weakness in working memory should
not rely on mental computations when solving math problems. For example, if they are performing long division problems, they
should write down every step including carrying numbers. When solving word problems, they should always have a scratch piece
of paper handy and write down the steps in their calculations. This will help prevent them from loosing their place and forgetting
what they are doing.

7. Provide Retrieval Practice for Students: Research has shown that long-term memory is enhanced
when students engage in retrieval practice. Taking a test is a retrieval practice, i.e., the act of recalling information
that has been studied from long-term memory. Thus, it can be very helpful for students to take practice tests. When teachers
are reviewing information prior to tests and exams, they could ask the students questions or have the students make up questions
for everyone to answer rather than just retelling students the to-be-learned information. Also, if students are required or
encouraged to make up their own tests and take them, it will give their parents and/or teachers information about whether
they know the most important information or are instead focused on details that are less important.

8. Help Students Develop Cues When Storing Information: According to the memory research,
information is easier retrieved when it is stored using a cue and that cue should be present at the time the information is
being retrieved. For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to represent the names of the Great Lakes – Huron, Ontario, Michigan,
Erie and Superior. The acronym
is a cue that is used when the information is being learned, and recalling the cue when taking a test will help the student
recall the information.

9. Prime the Memory Prior to Teaching/Learning: Cues that prepare students for the task to
be presented are helpful. This is often referred to as priming the memory. For instance, when a reading comprehension task
is given, students will get an idea of what is expected by discussing the vocabulary and the overall topic beforehand. This
will allow them to focus on the salient information and engage in more effective depth of processing. Advance organizers also
serve this purpose. For older students, Clif Notes for pieces of literature are often helpful aids for priming the memory.

10. Review Material Before Going to Sleep: It should be helpful for students to review material
right before going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information studied this way is better remembered. Any other
task that is performed after reviewing and prior to sleeping (such as getting a snack, brushing teeth, listening to music)
interferes with consolidation of information in memory.

(MemoryGuru'sstudent memory(W)p1&2

-to be continued

KEEP YOUR MIND ACTIVE AND EXERCISE YOUR
BRAIN

HOW TO MENTALLY CALCULATE THE DAY OF THE WEEK FOR ANY DATE

The Basic Steps

The basic steps
for a date in the years 2000-2099 are as follows:

Example date
July 13th, 2004

Take the last 2 digits of the year and add a quarter onto itself. (04 + 1 = 5)

Get the corresponding code for the month. (January = 6, February = 2, March = 2, etc. See month
codes for details). July = 5

Take the day. (=13)

Add the numbers together (5 + 5 + 13 = 23)

Take away 7 (or multiples of 7) until a number from 1-7 is left. (23 - 21 =2)

This number corresponds to the day of the week. (1 = Monday, 2 = Tuesday, etc.) In this case 2
= Tuesday

Other points to take into account

Apart from the
basic steps, other elements have to be taken into account:

When adding a quarter of the year onto itself, if the quarter of the year is not a whole number,
simply ignore the decimals. Do not round up. Therefore 27/4 = 6.75 = 6, and 2/4 = 0.5 = 0.

Leap years: subtract 1 from the total if the month is January or February.

Negative numbers. During the calculation you get 0 or negative numbers, just add seven until you
get a number from 1-7.

Different "centuries" *.

1700s add 5

1800s add 3

1900s add 1

2100s subtract 2

2200s subtract 4

(* For this
method we have to consider a '00' year as part of the new century)

The codes for the months

At first the
hardest part is learning the codes for the months. They are as follows:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr.

May

Jun

Jul

Ago

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

6

2

2

5

0

3

5

1

4

6

2

4

Try to use some
memory system to remember the codes for the months. For example, February is the 2nd month, March 2 music, etc. Try to find
associations that will remind you.

If need be,
you can add 7 or multiples of 7 to any of these values to help you remember them. For example, August could be 1 or 8, and
as it is the 8th month, it may be easier to remember with 8 than with 1. This may be useful if you can match it with a well-known
date. You could remember that the code for December is 25 (4+21), or for someone's birthday. The negative aspect of this is
that you'll be taking away the 7 (or multiples) towards the end of the calculations, and you'll be working with bigger numbers.

Leap Years

Remember that leap years are not always every 4 years. There are exceptions.
Years that end in 00 are not leap years unless it is a multiple of 400. Therefore 1700, 1800, 1900, and 2100 are not leap
years, but 2000 is.

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